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The problem is that you don't know who is good and who is bad unless you already know how to do what they are teaching. The thing is, most people who put tutorials up on YouTube are not that good. I've looked at some of the better known YouTube guys and their handling is not that good. Most...

I use Giobbi's handling. Unfortunately, I don't have Vernon's version to compare. Giobbi's text is a little difficult to understand on this one. My handling is as the deck is brought up and begins to be covered by the right hand, push the top card to the right and slightly up with the thumb...

Check out Poker Player's Picnic, Designed for Laughter and Epinwhit (spelling?).

Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic. It seems a little dated and a little basic with the illustrations, but it actually has a lot of strong magic and covers all the basics. Joshua Jay's Magic the Complete Course is little more updated with some fun routines. For cards, Royal Road is an...

Still trying to teach our dog to find the spectator's selected card... without chewing up the rest of the deck.

For card magic, check this out: http://www.geniimagazine.com/magicpedia/Card_Magic_Classification

The issue is one of accessibility. Any spectator can look up an effect on Youtube, while people only tend to buy books if they are interested in learning magic. The other issue is respect for the creator. If someone has decided to share their methods with people through putting out a book...

My sense is that you would want to use billiard ball style vanishes. http://www.conjuringarchive.com/show.php?cat=1287 But then you would be dirty and have to ditch the egg. You also could use an egg bag for the vanish

My guess is that you are not pushing the top card forward enough (there is nothing to contact with the base of your palm) or you hand is not positioned far enough up (the base of your palm is not over the exposed portion of the change card). The change card is supposed to be contacted by the...

You are overthinking this. The method is simple. Do you have Anneman's Practical Mental Magic? Check out the Watch Test on page 98 and Hit Parade on page 310 and then watch the video again listening to the exchange with the performer when the number is selected and when the number is...

For Masklyne and Devant, some used multiple effects, others used a skit to set up the effect. Google "Will, the Witch and the Watchman" and Devant's "Mascot Moth." The danger with props is that they get all the credit. If you see someone disappear into a shiny box with stars on it, you...

Simply put, it is the magician that makes the deck magical, not the other way around. It is just a prop. You, through your skills, presentation and practice, give it life. I can perform with any deck of cards. The decks you list all handle pretty much the same. The design is different...

If you substitute the word "originality" for "art", Maskelyne's definitions become clear. You also have to put those definitions in context of Maskelyne's performance style -- much of what he performed was short skits. What you are doing is probably "normal art." You've taken a prop and made...

Typically, the deck that is in my hands is the best deck for performing magic.

Get Tommy Wonder's Books of Wonder

The real question is what type of magic do you like? What effects do you perform? What do you like to watch. There are thousands of magic books out there, each appealing for different reasons. Your question is like asking "hey, I want to see a movie, what movie should I watch?" Questions...

Well, it isn't new, but fun nonetheless. There are lots of card trick and other effects based on similar principles -- especially taking a number and subtracting from it the inverse and then adding the digits (92-29=63; 6+3=9). A similar result is used in the 10 to 20 force that I learned...

Overhand shuffle will work for controlling the card from the bottom to the top. The simplest way to stack three cards at the top of the deck is to look through the deck on the pretense of checking that all the cards are there and then to cull the cards to the top as you do it. I think both...

In the mind of the spectator, writing down the name doesn't make any difference. They still thought of it. Writing it down is justified because it keeps them honest. "Write down the name and then put it in your pocket so we can show people later." The name and card outine taught on Psypher...

The only way you get over stage fright is to get up in front of people and perform or just talk. Join a Toastmasters group or take speaking classes or take acting classes. If you do something 100 times, you no longer get (too) nervous. As for scripting for mentalism, think first about your...